Serendipity
by Plague117
Summary: Serendipity: A pleasant surprise. Shinji Ikari fled Japan after Third Impact. Three years later, he returns a changed man with some unusual...friends. Rating for Sexual content, Mature language and violence. Chapter 3 revised, major plot changes
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Fuck off.

Shinji Ikari sighed, a long tired and weary sound. His eyes traveled over the bloody "sea" if it could be called that and finally settled over the head of Lilith, which looked exactly like Rei Ayanami's face. A tear made its way down his cheek, the last one to grace the deep blue eyes, he swore to himself. With a determined expression, he hefted his pack over his shoulder and and turned away from the sea of LCL. Without looking back once, he left, walked away from his life and into the unknown.

**Serendipity**

**Chapter 1: Home sweet Home**

Misato looked at the calm face of Asuka Langley Sohryu, she had her eyes closed and looked so peaceful. She pressed a button on the console "OK, Asuka, the test is over, you can come out now." Asuka opened her eyes and looked at Misato before nodding. Misato walked over to the window and looked out at the EVA cages, Asuka climbed out of Unit-02 and headed towards the locker room, striding past the grim, silent face of EVA unit-01. Misato sighed, as she felt a familiar pang of pain in her chest looking at the purple bio-mechanical monster. It had been 3 years since she had last seen the Third Child. She had found him cradling a comatose Asuka after Third Impact. He had left shortly after making sure that the red head was well cared for and had not been seen since.

She headed back to her office, not feeling up to the task of dealing with the volatile eighteen year old German pilot, her sync ratio was 57%. She'd be pleased with that, after all it was the first activation since Unit-02 had been ripped to shreds by the EVA series. As she reached her office, she caught a glimpse of her fiancé waiting by the door with a smile on his face.

Kaji Ryoji was shot and killed months before Third Impact, that was what she had been led to believe, what NERV and SEELE had been led to believe. However, Kaji had indeed been shot, but not killed, laying comatose in a Tokyo-2 hospital bed, he had been swept up into Lilith's black egg only to find his way out again later. He greeted her as he usually did, with a light peck on the lips then a kiss on the forehead, it was his new-found ritual and he always did it.

"I got some bad news for you, sweetheart" Kaji told her

"How bad are we talking?" Misato asked

"Not bad, really. More annoying, the old bastard wants you in his office." Misato grunted an affirmative response and turned about face and headed for the Commander's office. Commander Ikari had come back from Third Impact, as did most of the Earth's population. He had taken the helm of NERV and through magnificent political plotting and manipulating, he had shifted all the blame of the mass genocide of humanity completely off himself and onto SEELE. With Unit-02, NERV was now the main peace-keeping arm of the UN and Gendo was once again one of the most powerful and influential men in the world, though rumors were told that he had plans to make himself the most powerful man alive, taking his pre T-I spot and merging it with Keehl Lorenz's, the leader of the SEELE comity. It did seem a bit far fetched, however, that Gendo Ikari was planning on taking over the world from his dimly lit office, and Misato personally believed that he had much grimmer plans in motion.

* * *

><p>For his part, Gendo Ikari did not actually have any diabolical plans in store, nor did he have any world domination goals. Gendo Ikari was a bastard, he was cruel, he was merciless, he was cold, he was kind of an ass. But for all his faults, Gendo Ikari was not an evil man, contrary to popular belief. His quest to bring about Third Impact was fueled by the purest of all emotions, love. The love for his deceased wife and the wish to reunite with her. But Gendo Ikari was not a foolish man either, he knew he had lost, and he knew who had beaten him, his own son. But he didn't hold a grudge, he came to terms with this over the three years he'd been back, he would work toward whatever project held his fancy at the time, but he had an itchy sensation in the back of his mind, instinct you might call it, that the Evangelions would be needed soon, and not to mediate peace between warring countries.<p>

Commander Ikari looked up as Major Katsuragi walked into his office, he afforded himself a glance over his shoulder and sighed at the empty space. Like many others he had come back, but there were some that had not, Kozo Fuyutsuki was one of them. And now Ikari was alone in his massive office. Shrugging off the sentimentality, he turned his attention to the woman who was now at attention in front of him.

"At ease, Major" The woman complied "I've called you hear for two reasons, the first being to talk of your promotion"

"what promotion, sir" Misato asked him

"It's been three years Major, and the sub-commander spot is still vacant, I need someone with experience and character to be my right hand. I need someone who will question my orders, Fuyutsuki was too lenient with that towards the end, I need someone to challenge me when the time comes for it. You've been openly insubordinate to me in the past, I feel that this position should come to you as the most qualified person for this job" He spoke slowly, "Don't look at me like that Major, I've been analyzing personnel files for three years to find a suitable replacement, I had to decide one day."

"But sir, what about the operations director position, who will take over that?" Misato asked him

"you will still hold those responsibilities, but from now on they will be split between you and the Second Child. Who does what is up to you to decide"

"Yes, sir! Thank you, Sir" she said hesitantly

"Very well, Sub-commander Katsuragi, on to the second order of business" He said reaching over his desk to grab a folder, opening it "We have two Evangelions and only one pilot. Furthermore, one of the EVAs only accepts a single pilot. Do you not see the flaw in that?" He asked, raising his eyes above his glasses and staring straight into Misato's brown irises.

"Sir, surely you don't mean -" she trailed off looking uncertain

"The search party has already been assembled, we've managed to find traces of him all over the globe and have narrowed his position to here" He pointed on the map in the dossier open in front of him

"What would he be doing _there_ of all places?" Misato asked, befuddled

"If you saw the other places he'd been at in the past three years, perhaps it would make sense to you. Truth is, we're already pretty sure that we've found him. He will be brought in soon, and that's why I'm going to need you to acclimate him, he will most likely be reluctant to do his job. You have to convince him"

Misato looked uncomfortable, but she nodded anyways "very well, you're dismissed, Sub-Commander"

"Sir!" Misato saluted and promptly marched out of the office. As the door closed behind her she sagged against the wall. How the hell was she going to explain this to Asuka?

* * *

><p>The man squinted in the harsh sun, even with his sunglasses he had a hard time looking out over the dry landscape. In the distance he saw a man sitting with his legs dangling in the clear blue seawater, further away there were three other men, laughing and talking together. He approached his target, he walked to him and stopped a few meters behind the sitting teenager. In the corner of his eye, he noticed the three men getting up, carrying a lot of weaponry, and he started to sweat, and not from the heat either. He noticed that his target's hand gently ran over a rifle that was laid out next to him and gulped audibly.<p>

"A-Are you Ikari Shinji? The Third Child?" he asked, cursing himself, here he was, a highly trained Section 2 agent, cowering in front of a child. He heard a long low sigh.

"I figured this day would come" he mumbled dejectedly

"your father requests your return to Tokyo-3, sir" the agent spoke out

"My father? He came back?" Shinji asked him, "well, well, this may be interesting" he got up, picking up his rifle and slinging over his shoulder. He turned to the men that were standing behind the agent, and spoke out in clear English "It's time, just like I always told you guys" the others nodded, one spoke in a heavy Scottish accent

"Aye, and we got something to tell you, Shinji" he told him "we're coming with you"

"What? Are you re-" Shinji started to protest but he knew that it was pointless, these three were the most stubborn sons of bitches he ever knew. "fine" he sighed "let's go"

"ha! I told you morons he wouldn't argue" The Scottish man said

"Aye, I guess you're right, I owe you a tenner" answered a voice with an Irish accent

"Would you both please shut up? I have a splitting fucking head ache" The third man said with an American accent.

"He's just sore 'cause he bet me 20 dollars" The Scottish man told Shinji with a smile, Shinji just laughed at their antics. He nodded at the Section 2 man and the agent relaxed. Turning around he finally got a look at the three men that were chatting behind his back. The Scottish man had a short beard, short brown-orange hair with square glasses on his nose. The Irish man was balding, he had broad shoulders and an easygoing smile, he was also a bit overweight. The American had shaggy blonde hair and an unshaved chin, he was taller then the other two, with a countenance that seemed to be always annoyed. The Agent looked back at Shinji with a question on his lips, the Third Child just smiled and pointed at the Scottish man

"That's Frankie" then the Irish man "that's Dara" and then the American "and that's David, they'll be coming with me to Tokyo-3, and before you think of objecting, remember my father 'requested' my presence and its well within my rights to bring them, and it's much better then the alternative"

"The alternative, sir?" The agent asked

"We kill you, your chopper crew and fly over to the nearest airport ourselves and board the first plane to Japan" Frankie told him with a smile, making the Agent very, very uncomfortable.

"I may have orders to not harm Shinji, doesn't mean I can't put a bullet in your face before you kill me, damn Scot bastard" he answered, finding his spine. Dara laughed loudly as David and Shinji chuckled at Frankie's astonished face. The Scot grinned wildly and patted the Agent on the back

"I like you, you son of a bitch! What's your name?" He asked him, still smiling

"Nakayama Shu" the Agent answered

"Well, damn Shu, you're gonna be my first new friend from Tokyo-3" The Scottish man led the helpless looking agent away while talking at him animatedly, asking about the city of Tokyo-3, the bars, the booze and the women. Shinji just smiled at his friends, who stood there with matching smirks, before they all followed the others to the helicopter.

* * *

><p>Thirteen hours later, a very sore and tired Shinji stepped off a giant cargo plane and turned around to yell at one of the fucking crews "NEXT TIME! GET SOME FUCKING SEATS ASSHOLE!" he turned back and stalked off to the car that was waiting for him. The drive to NERV was long and uneventful and he sighed as he thought about the people he had left behind three years ago. "Asuka..." he mumbled softly, drifting off to sleep. 20 minutes later he was woken up by the Agent telling him they had arrived at NERV HQ. He was rather unsurprised that it was still in the Geofront, however, due to Third Impact, the large dome like Geofront, which was actually Lilith's black egg, was now a gigantic crater, and the city had been somewhat rebuilt on the slopes, in the middle and on the edge of the crater.<p>

"We'll just inform the commander of your arrival" The Agent told him as he reached for his radio, deftly, and faster then the Agent thought was possible, Shinji grabbed his arm and squeezed it with a evil smirk on his face.

"No, Shu, we'll give that old bastard a nice little surprise" He told him with a short chuckle. He pulled the radio from the protesting Section-2 Agent and pulled a hood up from his jacket before donning on some black sunglasses. The group of 4 and one Section-2 Agent marched through the HQ with the agent leading. None of the people they passed, however, were aware that the agent was drenched in a cold sweat, nor that he had a rifle barrel subtly trained on his back. As they reached the all too familiar door of the Commander's office, Shinji snorted. They hadn't changed anything, they'd just rebuilt the entire damn thing the exact same way as it was before.

As they reached the door, the three soldiers that were with Shinji quickly grabbed and subdued the two guards that were assigned to the Commander's door and Shinji pointed his gun at the secretary sitting behind her desk. "Open it" he told her gently, despute the fact that he was holding her at gunpoint. She shook her head and he sighed, taking off his hood and glasses, "I'm his son, I'm not going to kill him, I just want to watch him shit himself, now open it"

The woman was still hesitant, so Shinji simply cocked the hammer on his gun and she finally decided to open the door, Shinji holstered his gun and strode in like he owned the place.

Inside the office, the Commander was poring over a file with the Sub-Commander, taking her through her new duties, he heard someone walk in, and he assumed it to be Dr. Akagi, who was to see him around this time. Without looking up he spoke up at the doctor. "How is the process going on regenerating Unit-03?" he asked her.

"How the fuck should I know?" A decidedly masculine voice answered him and he looked up to see his own son standing there smirking at him.

"Shinji?" Misato questioned hesitantly

"Ah, if it isn't Misato. I was expecting the other old fart to be here, actually." Shinji said, waving cheerily at his old guardian.

"Professor Fuyutsuki opted not to return" His father answered him "Sub-Commander Katsuragi has taken over his duties as of yesterday"

"oh!" Shinji said "I'm impressed, though it was predictable, no-one else would be as capable as her, congrats on the promotion Misato" he told her with a smile, Misato smiled back, but didn't answer, not trusting her voice at seeing the boy she had loved like a son standing in front of her.

He looked so different, his soulful deep blue eyes were still there, but they had a certain hardness to them that she didn't like seeing in him. She had read his dossier and she knew that he had become a mercenary, a gun for hire.

He had been fighting on three different continents for the past three years. Places that were hot spots before Second Impact, unsurprisingly became worse after Third Impact. Shinji had seen it all in the short time he had been away from NERV. Columbia, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Kosovo, South Africa, Somalia, Palestine, Sierra Leone.

The agents had just picked him up from Lebanon, in fact, where he had been hired as a guard for a particularly ruthless warlord. His outfit didn't surprise her much, he was dressed in tan pants and dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Above his shirt he had a light brown hooded sweatshirt with the sleeves cut off at the shoulders. He wore a dark olive green combat vest, which doubled as a kevlar vest. She spied two grenades and some ammo cartridges, he also had a rifle in front of him, he was resting his arms on it as he looked at his father.

He had grown as tall as his father, his features becoming harder through age and battle and he had a thin scar that was running from his right eyebrow and onto his eyelid, it wasn't very noticeable but with the level of scrutiny Misato was looking at her former charge with, she was bound to spot it. Shinji looked like his father, but at the same time he still carried that same gentleness in his features that he had when he was 15 years old. His eyes, hardened with war and set in a glare against his father still shone with the kindness she knew him capable of, and the purple haired woman silently reassured herself that even if Shinji made killing his business, he didn't enjoy taking lives.

Shinji enjoyed the look of surprise on his father's face, though it was only there for a second, he had to hand it to the man, he was great at keeping face.

"So, Father, from the kind 'request' for my presence, I assume that you need a pilot for Unit-01" Shinji asked him with a slight frown

"That's right, Son" Gendo said "I know you hate it but-"

"Spare me the routine, please" Shinji cut him off "you need a pilot, and if you were able to find it I'm sure that you know what my line of work is" Gendo nodded slightly "Then you know that the biggest issue here is cash" He said with a smile. "500, a month and 50 for each of my men"

"That's not unreasonable, right commander?" Misato said

"He meant 500, 000." Gendo said slowly, causing the woman to gasp and turn back to the grinning boy in front of them

"Shinji! That's outrageous! You can't expect-"

"I was not aware the sub-commander was involved in these negotiations" Shinji said rather harshly

"He's right, please keep quiet" Gendo admonished the poor woman, he turned back to his own "150 and 5"

"450 and 45" Shinji shot back

"250 and 15" Gendo's answer came back, Shinji frowned and though for a bit

"320 and 20" he said finally "final offer"

Gendo frowned but finally he nodded "very well, Shinji"

"Don't worry father, you can use me and my men for our original purpose as well, you know we don't just do mercenary work, right?" Gendo simply nodded "very well, are we done here?" Gendo nodded again and Shinji simply strode out of the office. Misato turned to the commander and asked

"what did he mean by not only mercenary work?" She asked him

"Assasinations, Shinji is an assassin when he's not a mercenary," he told her. To her credit, Misato managed not to gasp at this information. '_that wasn't in the dossier_' she thought grimly, looking at the door the Third Child had just used to leave.

* * *

><p>In the hall, Shinji waited until he was out of sight to collapse heavily agaisnt a wall. He turned to his mercenary friends and grinned, "goddamn that was hard!" he exclaimed "gotta hand it to the old bastard, he is fucking intimidating as hell" The others just chuckled at his discomfort, "well, I got you guys a nice deal. 20 grand a month" he told them with a grin.<p>

"I don't even want to know how much you're getting paid, you bastard" Frankie bellowed out in his heavy accent. Shinji just grinned and Frankie's eyes widened slightly "oh fuck no! Don't tell me you arsehole!" he yelled

"320, 000$ a month" Shinji told him with a pleased grin

"Fuck you!" Frankie said before storming off, probably in search of a drink. Non-alcoholic of course, he was a recovering alcoholic, had been sober 12 years now. Recent events and his line of work sorely tested his resolve, but he had promised himself he wouldn't touch the fermented liquid again for as long as he lived. Shinji just smiled at his retreating back, he turned to the others

"Better go after him, he might destroy a vending machine, he doesn't have any Yen" he told them with a chuckle "I'm going for a walk" and with that he walked off, waving at his friends over his shoulder.

* * *

><p>Asuka ran through the halls of NERV HQ, she looked like a lioness on the hunt to the people she passed. Finally, she spotted her target and lunged. The poor, still frazzled and exhausted Sub-commander of NERV didn't stand a chance<p>

"Is it true!" she practically screamed, getting ever more attention from the bystanders

"hello Asuka" spoke a tired Misato Katsuragi

"Spare me the god damned pleasantries, Misato! Is it true?" She yelled again

"I was about to go find you, yes it's true. He was just in to see the commander and now he's left the base, we don't know where he's gone, but not far, I bet" she told the red head.

"I know where" Asuka spoke quickly and dashed out of the command center. Misato just sighed wearily

"poor Shinji" she mumbled, feeling sorry for the Third Child.

She arrived at her destination, he had to be here. She was out of breath from running so much and her hair was sticking to the sweat on her forehead. She looked out over the lake that had formed after Unit-00's self destruction and she knew he had to be here. This is where he had met Kaworu Nagisa, she saw it in instrumentality. As her breathing calmed down, she managed to hear faint humming. Beethoven's 9th. Ode to Joy to be precise, she turned around and saw him, he was sitting on top of a broken cross, she approached the cross and she noticed that he had been watching her this whole time. She took in the changes in his physique and marveled a bit at the transformation, he looked so different, and yet somehow he was the same.

As she got closer, she noticed that there was an assault rifle leaned agaisnt the base of the cross, along with a combat vest '_M4A1 carbine_' her mind told her, unbidden. Shinji stopped humming and looked down at her.

"It's wonderful, isn't it?" He asked her, before she could answer though, he continued talking "Music, it speaks so much better then simple words. It's like it's in tune with our emotions. Each piece of music resonates through us and speaks different words. It elevates and amplifies our emotions. One piece can be sorrowful, but just as much as it can be soothing, it can be the soft call of a mother to her lost son, or the raging grief of a man who's lost his loved ones. There is no definite ground for it, it speaks to us in different ways. It's so amazing that even an angel found the beauty in these melodies and through it fell in love with us and our potential. He thought me that, but you knew that, after all we're the only two to remember Instrumentality, oddly enough." Finished with his tirade, Shinji hopped down and stood in front of the redhead. "It's good to see you Asuka." he told her

"yeah" she answered, rather pathetically. "Shinji?" she asked, as if unsure. He nodded and her expression suddenly changed to one of rage as she slapped him. Hard. "That's for leaving me, you bastard! You better have a damn good explanation or your balls are next"

"fine fine!" Shinji held his hands up in surrender "but...not here, ok? It's about to rain anyways" he said motioning to the darkening skies. She nodded

"My apartment then" she said and walked away, she turned back and yelled "Coming, Third?" Shinji just chuckled and picked up his weapon and vest before following her with a smile on his face.

As they reached a familiar apartment building, he watched Asuka press the button for the 8th floor and waited, she turned to him and said "The apartment was pretty destroyed in Third impact, flooded with LCL and what not, but the higher floors were spared, this is the only part of the city that wasn't completely leveled. Plus the apartments on the top floor are better and bigger then the one we had" Shinji smiled and nodded at her, deciding to remain quiet.

Finally they had reached her apartment, and she had not lied. It was indeed much bigger then Misato's old place, even though the layout was almost exactly the same "not very original, are they?" he mumbled, though Asuka overheard him and let out a short laugh

"That's exactly what I thought, but the rent is dirt cheap, so it's all good" she said with a smile. She went into the kitchen and came back with two glasses of water and sat on the living room couch, motioning her to join him.

"so you don't live with Misato, anymore?" Shinji asked her

"no, she got engaged to Kaji about 6 months ago and they moved in together closer to HQ" she told him

"engaged? Wow, I'm glad for her, and Kaji's back? I don't even want to know the story behind how that's possible" he exclaimed

"I'll tell you later, but for now, you owe me an explanation" she said narrowing her eyes. Shinji sighed and nodded launching into his long winded explanation.

"After Third Impact, you were so quiet, but I was glad to have you near me and awake. I was so glad. Back then I was so fucked up that you could have beaten me with a rock and I'd have thanked you for noticing me" he chuckled, disgusted "anyways, after that, for some reason you started fading away. You slept more, ate less and stopped talking. I didn't know what was wrong with you. People had started coming back by then and I was scared shitless of each and everyone of them. Then you just didn't wake up. I was lost, I decided that it was my fault you were in a coma. I was relying on you when you were in no condition to rely on yourself. So I decided that I should go out and stay away until I was worthy enough to have you depend on me. Also, I wanted to be selfish. I couldn't stand watching you in a coma, not again. Not twice. So behind all my 'noble' intentions, I ran away because I couldn't stand the thought that you wouldn't wake up. I was scared I'd kill myself. Eventually I found a plane with a pilot. He flew me to the middle-east where he dropped off his supplies...and me. I was in the middle of some fucking civil war and that cocksucker just flew away. I wandered around for days. Finally, I was picked up by some extremists. There was one of them, who...um... 'wanted' me." he said blushing slightly "some kind of sick pervert. He took me to a room and when he put his gun down I grabbed a lamp and killed him. I bashed his fucking head in." he smiled grimly "after that, I heard gunshots, then the door opened, and picture me. Holding a bloodied lamp, face to face with a bearded Scot and his rifle. Frankie just laughed his ass off. They eventually agreed to take me in and that's how I became a mercenary. That's my story."

He looked at Asuka as she seemed to mull over everything he told her. She was nibbling on her lip and finally she looked up at him. He held his breath.

"selfish huh?" she said softly, he just nodded, releasing the breath he'd been holding. "can I be selfish too, then?"

"what do you mea-" he started to ask but she silenced him by crushing his lips over his. She deepened the kiss and slid her tongue inside his mouth. After what seemed like an eternity she pulled away and stared straight into his eyes, her gaze piercing his soul.

"just shut the fuck up Third" She kissed him again, her hands reaching for the buttons on his shirt.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**AN: ok, so a new story. I wanted to get on with my samurai story, I really did. But this idea has been fucking with me forever now. The S/A relationship might seem rushed, but its not all roses and scented water as we say in France. There's a lot of shit down the road for these two. I'll also explain Asuka's behaviour in the next chapter. Put shit in perspective, for now I want you people to be as surprised as Shinji is so. Yeah. What else? Oh yeah, the English, I don't want to fucking put italics for every time someone speaks english. When someone speaks to the three mercenaries they're speaking english. When the three are talking, they're talking in english. It's not far fetched to think that an organization as important as NERV had most of its important people be somewhat fluent in english. Also the mercenaries; one of them is modeled off Frankie Boyle and the other off Dara O'Briain. Hence the first names.**

**Lastly, the currency Shinji negotiated in was USD, but the currency of Japan is Yen. Just cuz I cant be arsed to do conversion rates.**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Fuck off.

**Serendipity**

**Chapter 1: Did that seriously happen?**

Shinji woke up groggily, not recognizing the room he was in. He felt something warm on his chest and looked into a pair of sky blue eyes belonging to a very naked Second Child. Shinji smiled as the events of the previous night rushed through his head. He had expected a lot coming from Asuka when he did return, but not that.

"About damn time baka! It's already 12 and I'm starving! Why'd you sleep so long" Asuka demanded

"Well, Asuka, In case you forgot I was in Lebanon not long ago. Two days ago, I was in a firefight, those are pretty exhausting you know, followed by a car chase through Beirut. Followed by getting flown to Japan, followed by an exhausting game of 'my balls are bigger then yours' with my father. Followed by..well...you." Shinji replied smiling. Asuka simply pouted, something that Shinji suddenly found adorable.

"Humph! Whatever, Third, I was getting annoyed at watching you sleep. Go get washed up and make something to eat already!" Asuka demanded. Shinji just sighed and got up.

"Hai, hai" he mumbled, in a way he was glad, Asuka was still the same. He pulled on some boxers and yelped when he felt the redhead pinch his ass. He turned and glared at her, but soon he smiled and turned around to head to the living room, in a way she was very different as well. Shinji went to the living room and pulled his survival kit from his combat vest. All the comforts of home in a simply packed box, designed for long stays outdoors it held a razor blade, some concentrated shaving powder, a toothbrush and a field medkit with some morphine. He heard a thump and looked up suddenly.

* * *

><p>Back in the bedroom Asuka sighed laying back into the bed. She didn't know what had taken her body over last night, she wanted to rip Shinji apart for leaving her, but seeing him, she had wavered and given in to that little voice that had always been in the back of her mind. She was glad she had as well. She smiled as she replayed the events of the previous night in her mind. Suddenly she heard a crash come from her living room. Wrapping the sheets around her body, she rushed out to see what the commotion was about.<p>

"What the hell are you doing, Th-" the words stuck in her throat as she saw Shinji, in his boxers, pinning a poor bespectacled young man to the ground. The man had his arms behind his back, face first on the floor, and Shinji was holding them securely with his knees. What shocked Asuka though was the gun that was pressed against the back of the poor man's skull and the intense look in Shinji's eyes, she got frightened for a second, before her senses came back to her and she burst out laughing.

"Shinji, please leave Kensuke alone" She said, still laughing. This caused Shinji to start a little as he studied the man's face, recognition dawned on his features and he started laughing as well. Clicking the safety back on the gun, Shinji let the poor young man stand up.

"S-Shinji?" Kensuke stammered, looking closely at the Third Child, he gasped and exclaimed "you're back!" and promptly threw his arms around the flabbergasted Third Child, causing Asuka to just laugh harder.

"hi Kensuke" Shinji said happily "It's been a while"

"It sure has!" the military otaku exclaimed "but wait...you're only in boxers" he pointed at Shinji and then turned to Asuka "and Asuka's...Asuka's" he trailed off, a blush forming on his face. Noticing this sudden change, Asuka realized the situation Kensuke had just caught them in and shrieked, running back into the bedroom. Kensuke then turned to Shinji with a leering grin on his face.

"Not now, Kensuke" Shinji said holding up his hand, he didn't understand why his friend suddenly recoiled, until he noticed the gun was still in his hand "oops! Haha, sorry Kensuke" Shinji said tucking the gun back in his combat vest "But what are you doing here?"

"I work as Misato's assistant now!" the otaku beamed "when Asuka didn't report for work she sent me to check on her, she wasn't answering the door so I walked in, it was unlocked, and, well you know the rest." Kensuke explained. Shinji nodded

"I see" then he leaned in "do you mind leaving though? I kind of want to stay with Asuka today, make an excuse for Misato, please?" Shinji whispered

"sure, Shin-man" Kensuke grinning

"not a word" Shinji warned him, the otaku just nodded and dashed out of the living room, then back in.

"Here's my phone number Shinji, Touji is still around as well, I'm sure he'll be really happy to see you. Call me tomorrow and we'll all meet up, just like old times" Shinji nodded and watched his friend leave. Shinji sighed and just started to brush his teeth. The beauty of field equipment was that it required almost nothing for proper use, some powdered tooth paste on the brush and the saliva naturally occurring in one's mouth took care of the rest. Still brushing his teeth he moved into the kitchen, looking through the counters he was disappointed at the kind of food Asuka kept. Rinsing his mouth in the sink, he grabbed a few fruits and made a quick salad.

Bringing it back to the bedroom, Shinji handed it to Asuka "You didn't have much, so I made you this" he said "later, I'll take you out for a real meal, I'll take a shower while you eat"

"T-Thanks, Third" Asuka said, obviously having some difficulty thanking him, some things never changed.

* * *

><p>As the hot water hit his skin, Shinji reflected on things. That Asuka was this open, after three years absence had surprised him. Even though she still hadn't exactly <em>told<em> him anything about her feelings, it seemed quite clear to him. He knew that she'd be elaborating on her actions soon, though. Things like this didn't happen without good reason, he knew that. If she just wanted to do _that_, she wouldn't have waited for him. At least, he hoped she had waited for him. For his part, Shinji hadn't even looked at another woman in three years, his heart always pining for the ever elusive redhead of his past.

Seeing her past really drove things home for him. He had always been attracted to her, that attraction had developed into fondness, for the times she had shown him her softer, gentler side. But seeing how much they were alike, and how much Project E had destroyed their lives, in a way, he had a newfound understanding of Asuka, a bond he couldn't shake off. Time makes the heart grow fonder, they say. Well, they were right, in those three years, Shinji had fallen hopelessly in love with Asuka. Something that terrified him, because as far as he knew she was still comatose...or worse. But now, he was back and she was here, well and alive, and more beautiful then ever and Shinji smiled as he turned off the shower. Looks like things wouldn't be so bad after all. Drying himself off, he donned his boxers and walked back into Asuka's bedroom.

He watched her as she lay in bed, she was on the phone but she quickly hung up as she saw him approach her. He slipped back into the warm covers and gathered her in his arms, dipping his head and softly inhaling the scent of her golden red tresses.

"Not that this isn't a dream come true, but why?" Shinji asked her softly.

"Why?" Asuka repeated "That's a good question. My first thought was to strangle you, when I find out you were back. I kept telling everyone I hated you. God knows how I tried to hate you. But you saw, didn't you? In Third Impact, you saw how I truly felt for you" She asked him, he simply nodded. "When I saw how you felt about me, how similar we were, it was just too much to take in. My emotional walls collapsed around me and I finally accepted my own feelings about you." She looked up and stroke his cheek, cupping it "So there you have it. Third Impact stole my pride, you took my heart and I've decided to give you my body" she smiled, then she slapped him. Hard "However, Third, You've got to _earn_ my trust. You got that?" She told him fiercely.

"I got that, Asuka. Thanks" Shinji said smiling. He dipped his head to kiss her but was met with the palm of her hand instead

"oh no, hot stuff. I gotta go in to work. You're not re-instated until tomorrow, go out, enjoy yourself or something" She ordered him and quickly left the bed. "oh and, you can stay here until you find your own place" she told him with a wink and a smile. Shinji just smiled and leaned back as he watched the whirlwind that was Asuka Langley Sohryu get dressed and bolt out of the door.

* * *

><p>Shinji decided to go out for something to eat, since he still hadn't had breakfast. Getting dressed and leaving the apartment he wondered around Tokyo-3 for a while. It felt weird, what with being built as different level terraces in a crater. Sometimes it felt sort of like San Francisco, he remembered that one car chase he got caught up in as a private security detail. Never, ever let Frankie drive is the lesson he retained from that particular event.<p>

Eventually, he found himself back at the lakeside, emulating his late friend turned traitor Kaworu, Shinji climbed the lone cross and looked out over the lake. He must have stood there for hours. Until a gruff voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"You shouldn't do that" it was a man that spoke.

"why?" Shinji responded

"It's disrespectful" Shinji looked at the man, he was dressed in a beige rain coat, under it was a black suit with a blue tie, slightly undone at the neck. His dark hair was short but ruffled and he had a 5' o clock shadow

"fine, don't want to offend" Shinji responded, jumping off the cross, he stood in front of the man

"Nice to meet you, Shinji" the man said "we've been watching you for a while"

"what?" Shinji gaped "who exactly are you?" he demanded

"my name is Castiel" the man responded "and I am an Angel of the Lord."

**To Be Continued**

**AN: First things first, thanks for no reviews. If you like this story enough to story alert it, leaving a review shouldn't burn your damned asses! I mean come on! How can I improve with NO feedback? Seriously? So stingy! Say what you like, say what you don't help me IMPROVE. God.**

**Second. Don't expect much updating, I'm a full time university student with a job and a daily work out schedule. Time is short.**

**Third. Don't freak out about Castiel too much. I don't intend to take Supernatural and smash it into EVA. I want to introduce Angels and Demons. And rather then make some up I can use some awesome ones. Besides, Castiel is the Angel of Thursday, a real Angel not made up by SPN. Though this is Misha Collins Castiel. If you need to picture him.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Fuck off.

**Serendipity**

**Chapter 2: Just what the bloody hell is going on?**

Shinji's reactions were those of a trained soldier, in the span of a quarter of a second, he had drawn his sidearm and fired three quick shots at the man's chest. The strange man looked unfazed, glancing down at his bleeding wounds before looking Shinji in the eye.

"That won't work Shinji" He told him

"Then I'll get my EVA and crush you like I did your friends!" Shinji snarled at him.

"I assure you, you can try, but I am not one of those angels you are familiar with. I am an Angel of the Lord, a Warrior of God and I've been sent to observe you, and prepare you for your future trials."

Shinji lowered his firearm, "So what now, then?" Shinji asked him.

"Now you listen up, well" Castiel answered "It's not a coincidence that you're here or that Unit-01 has just been retrieved, but for you to grasp the whole picture, you need a little history lesson" The man pierced Shinji with his blue eyes "now sit!" Shinji felt physically compelled and obeyed immediately.

"Ok, I'm listening" Shinji replied, trying to look composed despite the audible swallow that he couldn't suppress.

"The angels that you fought, were indeed angels sent by God, though he had them assume false forms, so that their powers were stunted. They were humanity's test, whether or not you humans could unite in the face of one foe. And you did unite, on the surface at least. Underneath, the same lies, murders and deception for personal greed went on. SEELE, your father, Katsuragi. All had personal agendas, thats why you were thrown in the midst."

"Me?" Shinji asked incredulously "what do you mean?"

"It's simple, all the events in your life were engineered with hindsight, the death of your mother, the abandonment by your father. It happened to make you who you were, who you are. A boy seeking nothing more then happiness, a simple wish. You were the lynchpin, your will to stay and fight and try to find happiness in a world full of tragedy, or to live in a false world of fake happiness. You were humanity's final test, and you passed" Castiel said with a hint of a smile, causing one to bloom on Shinji's face as well.

"I sense a but" Shinji said, the smile falling off of his face

"And you're correct, the Second Impact, the fight with the angel fascimiles and third impact, all of it has weakened the walls between worlds. Third Impact brought humanity closer to Heaven then ever before, however it has also weakened the barriers between this world and Hell" Castiel said sounding grave, causing Shinji to pale "A new trial will soon face humanity, Hell will send its champions to capture the Earth and enslave or exterminate mankind. The capture of the Earth is the first and most important step for freeing Lucifer from his imprisonment, at which point he will resume his war against Heaven."

"So, let me guess, these champions of Hell, they're huge and can only be killed by Evangelions" Shinji said, sounding a bit sarcastic

"Curb your insolence!" Castiel said softly, but he might as well have screamed it for all the intensity it carried "EVA will be needed, but the killing blow shall have to be administered by an Angelic weapon. You have only one in your possession"

"The lance of Longinus" Shinji said

"Indeed, but again, you humans were wrong, that's not the Lance of Longinus, honestly, imagine what would have happened if a human had tried to carry it, let alone stab Christ with it" Castiel chuckled "no, that is Michael's sword, fallen from Heaven after the great war, but never lost"

Shinji just nodded, not trusting words to come out

"Now, I have been tasked by Michael, who in turn has been tasked by God, to watch over you but not to interfere unless absolutely necessary. Try not to die until you save this world, Shinji. We'll talk again soon" and with the fluttering sound of wings, Castiel vanished from sight. Shinji blinked, speechless, until he regained his composure and only said three words.

"What the fuck?"

* * *

><p>Shinji stood in front of the door. He eyed that door like he would an enemy in an interrogation chair. Cold sweat began to drip down his back and his eyes narrowed as his muscles tensed up. It was time. He opened the door, gulped and called out "I'm home!" the answer he got was just about what he expected:<p>

"About damn time, Third!" and with that, Shinji sighed and slipped his boots off. He walked into the kitchen and took in the truly unique sight, unique to him at least, of Sohryu Asuka Langley wearing a white apron, spatula in hand and cooking.

"You're cooking?" he asked incredulously "And nothing caught on fire yet?"

"Haha!" Asuka laughed sarcastically "You don't want to eat my cooking then fine! Ass!" she huffed. Shinji chuckled as he approached her, he leaned in for a kiss but she shoved him away with her shoulder "You insult me, and now you want a kiss? Go to hell, Third" she bit out

"I'm sorry" said with a chuckle as he snaked his hands around her waist and kissed her softly "I won't insult your cooking again, promise" Asuka smiled and hit him softly in the chest with the back of the spatula

"Hmm, keep that up, and I'll actually start to enjoy your apologies, Third." She said with a wink. Shinji chuckled again as he took out a cigarette and lit it, he took a long drag, relishing it as he had not had the opportunity to smoke in a few days now. "What? Are you seriously trying to become some Kaji 2.0 or something?" Asuka asked

"What?" Shinji responded

"First the stubble, then the nonchalant chuckling and now smoking" she pointed at the cancer stick in accusation

"I suppose one could view it that way, but once you've seen combat, real combat, you tend to need something to take off the edge. I prefer cigarettes to drinking" Shinji told her

"what do you mean combat? Didn't the angels count?" Asuka asked, Shinji flinched slightly at the mention of angels but Asuka had turned back to her stove and didn't notice.

"It's not the same Asuka, shoving a blade inside a man's chest to pierce his heart, or taking cover next to someone you just shot. Having all that blood surround you as you fight to keep your sanity and survive." He took a long drag of the cigarette and looked up into Asuka's now saddened eyes "I don't want to talk about my work"

"Sorry Shinji, I..." but Shinji held up a hand.

"It's okay," He smiled "is it ready yet?"

Asuka jumped back to her meal and smiled "yep, here goes." Their meal was simple, two steaks with homemade mashed potatoes, something European, not surprising for Asuka. Shinji smiled and dug in.

"Wow! This is great Asuka" he said, she smiled and joined him in eating. Their meal was spent in casual conversation, just like their evening. But once they had retired to the bedroom, conversation died out in lieu of other activities.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Shinji was dressed in what he and his team had dubbed their 'dress uniforms.' It consisted of a pair of dark blue pants with a red stripe on the legs, a motif taken from the US Marines uniform, with a black jacket with gold buttons their unit patch was on the right shoulder, it sported a red insignia with a black knife in the middle of it, pointing upwards, much like the SAS patch. To accompany this was a black beret with the same insignia. At first, Frankie had pulled his together as a joke, but the team had taken to wearing them when meeting potential clients, to enhance their legitimacy and add an air of professionalism that other mercenary teams lacked. He felt it would be proper to report for duty in his dress uniform.<p>

During the car ride over, he could feel the tension and anticipation in him rise. He would be re-united with his EVA, Unit-01, the Beast, his mother's soul. Whatever you wanted to call it. Asuka kept silent, in fact she had not said a word since complimenting him on his uniform. He was thankful for that, she knew him better then anyone, he supposed, so she must have known that he needed the silence to stay focused right now. She was the opposite, she needed noise and attention when she was stressed, he needed to vanish, he had taken to picking recon missions where he was to infiltrate enemy territory alone in times of homesickness or depression, now he couldn't do that, he just had to keep his head down and hope no-one was too distracting.

As they arrived at NERV, his anxiety lessened somewhat, he thought it was something to combat, nervous at first but all that goes flying out the window as soon as the bullets start flying, he stopped fighting it. Whatever the reason, the familiar logo helped to calm him down a bit and he closed his eyes briefly. He missed the train ride into the Geofront, it was so majestic in its prime. Soon they had arrived to HQ and he met his team as they waited for him to arrive.

"Bloody Hell Shinji, took you long enough!" Frankie exclaimed with his boisterous demeanor, he was also in dress uniform, as were Dave and Dara.

"I guess so, Frankie, I see you guys had the same idea" Shinji answered

"yep, we figured you would want to dress well for your first day back, we didn't want you feeling alone or anything" Dave answered, smirking slightly. Shinji smiled, but it was fleeting, and at once the others lost their smiles as they recognized that Shinji was focusing once more. The five walked through the halls, attracting curious stares from the NERV staff, until they had reached the bridge.

Activity on the bridge was, as always, in full swing. Techs were yelling out figures and technical terms, Doctor Akagi was yelling out orders, and the commanders, Gendo and Misato, were observing everything, occasionally making a comment or giving an order, or asking for a situation report. When the four soldiers marched in, everything stopped as all eyes turned to them. They lined up and turned about face to face the Commander. Shinji stepped forward first and saluted. Shinji brought his hand down and barked out

"Captain Shinji Ikari, reporting for duty, sir!" Shinji then stepped back in formation and kept his hands behind his back. This process was repeated for all 4 soldiers, Frankie was first;

"Sergeant Frankie Boyle, reporting for duty, sir!" then it was Dara's turn

"Sergeant Dara O'Brian, reporting for duty, sir!" and finally David

"Sergeant David Cooper, reporting for duty, Sir" When it was all over, the Commander sat back down,

"Welcome to NERV Gentlemen, your first assignment awaits you, ready up and await my summons. Dismissed" All four turned to leave but Gendo spoke up "Captain, a word" he called out. Shinji stopped and faced him as his friends walked out of the CIC. "Captain, we have prepared Unit-01, are you ready to sync with her now? Or would you rather go on your assignment first?" Gendo asked him.

Shinji blinked at being given a choice, but regained composure quickly "I would like to sync now, I don't want to delay any longer then I have to" he told his father, who simply nodded.

"Very well, go change and report to the EVA cages for sync test, no simulation body, you will sync with Unit-01 straight away." Shinji nodded "Dismissed." Shinji saluted and walked out of the CIC.

He walked into the locker room and found a plugsuit, folded on the bench, next to it was a pile of toiletries and a towel along with an envelope. He opened it and a picture of Misato and Kaji fell out, with the words "Have dinner with us, Shinji-kun" and a heart written on it. He smiled at that, it would be good to have dinner with his surrogate mother and his old male role model. He had missed them both dearly. Putting the note aside, he dressed quickly, old habits and all that. Soon he was in his plugsuit, and as he clipped the neural connectors into his hair, he gave himself a once over in the mirror and nodded. "Time to dive off the deep end, Shinji. Let's not fuck it up" he told his reflection before walking out of the locker rooms, going straight for the elevators that would bring him to the cages.

When he arrived at the cage, he felt a chill run down his spine as he was met with the face of Unit-01 for the first time in 3 years. He couldn't decided if the chill was brought on by fear or exhilaration, a bit of both, he supposed. He also noticed his father had left the command bridge and had gotten into the cages and was also staring at the EVA. Shinji approached him and turned to look at Unit-01 fully. He heard his father's voice speak softly.

"When Third Impact happened, Lilith took the souls by turning into their loved ones and taking their AT fields away gently." he turned to Shinji "For me, Yui, in Unit-01, ate me." Shinji looked at him in shock at this "Yes, I always wanted to re-unite with her, and re-unite you with her." he sighed sadly "Instead I should have tried to take care of you, I suppose. Yui could have remained in the Sea of LCL, but she chose to return to Unit-01. For you, the same reason I left the sea to come back. I want to try to get to know you, Shinji. If you ever want to take me up on that offer, let's go to dinner sometime." And with that, the enigmatic commander of NERV walked off, leaving his shocked and speechless son behind.

"We're ready for you, Captain" A tech spoke up. Shinji nodded and clenched his fist in front of his face.

"Ok! I'm back, mother" he told the purple behemoth. To the techs' complete horror, the beast seemed to rumble a response to him.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**AN: OK! Sorry about the wait guys, thanks for all the reviews! I guess my rant had an effect on you lol. Someone sent me a weird review that kinda sounded insulted, but honestly I couldn't understand a friggin word of it. **

**Finally, I want to apologize for how long this took. I am in university, so it's hard to get these out. Honestly, I can't even work on a chapter over time, I literally have to churn one out over maximum 2-3 days or it would lie unfinished for three weeks and i'd lose my train of thought on it. So this took 2 evenings, I hope that by next week I'll have another one, but I really can't promise anything. If there isn't another one by next week, do not expect any until at least May, cuz finals are coming up starting the end of next week. Also Diablo III in may, and I ordered the collector's edition WAASSSAP! Woo! ;p**

**Have a good one folks, I really really really hope you enjoy this! Please leave me a review, it literally makes my day. I had a shitty day and got a nice review, made it all good and I finished my day with a smile! :D go reviewers!**


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